yesterday silver standard filed a shelf prospectus to issue $150 million of common stock:

http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/090211/04732...

this doesn't mean they're actually going to issue new equity any time soon, as the registration is valid for the next 25 months. i got in touch with the company to ask about this, and the registration serves to keep their options open. it seems like several other mining companies have done so, and then immediately issued new shares, but this will not necessarily be the case with silver standard.

it is just a coincidence that the san agustin announcement happened at the same time - the two events were completely unrelated. as stated in the prospectus, the company is not looking to make an acquistion; the funds may be used for general corporate purposes, repayment of debt, and so on. the company still intends that the cash flow from pirquitas and eventually san luis will finance the construction of pitarrilla, but given the volatility of metals prices, there is no guarantee that they won't have to go to the credit markets at some future date.

by filing the prospectus now, they can move quickly to issue equity at a favorable price if the opportunity presents itself, as a lot can happen in 25 months. they also have the option of exploring debt financing, but if they can continue to grow organically, none of that will be necessary.